Prosecutors Pursue Big SAC Settlement

By

Michael Rothfeld,

Jenny Strasburg and

Susan Pulliam

Updated Sept. 24, 2013 10:10 p.m. ET

Federal prosecutors, seeking to cap a major chapter in an insider-trading crackdown, proposed settling a criminal case against hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors LP for $1.5 billion to $2 billion, people familiar with the case said.

At a meeting late last week at the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan, SAC lawyers argued for a lower settlement amount—and that a separate $616 million civil regulatory penalty SAC agreed to pay earlier...